Dr. Natascha Dropka
The chemist works on the KRISTMAG® project at the numerical modelling group of the Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth (IKZ)
Natascha Dropka was born in Novi Sad (Serbia). She graduated in chemical engineering at the University of Novi Sad and received there her MSc and in 1998 her DrSc degree in the cooperation with the University College London and the Faculty of Chemical Technology in Prague.
From 1991 to 1999 she worked at the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad as a teaching assistant and later as an assistant professor. At the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (former ACA) in Adlershof she contributed to the field of kinetic modelling and reactors/process design from 1999 to 2007.
In 2008 she joined the numerical modelling group of the Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth (IKZ) to work on the KRISTMAG® project awarded with the Innovationspreis Berlin Brandenburg in December 2008.
Her Current Research Topic:
Currently Natascha Dropka is engaged in 3D numerical modelling of the growth process of solar silicon in the presence of travelling magnetic fields. Multi-crystalline silicon is a standard raw material for the production of photovoltaic silicon cells.
Historically, most of the silicon solar wafers were and still are produced by crystallization of liquid silicon in the form of a block, which is then cut into wafers. Melt convection caused by thermal gradients can negatively affect the quality of the final product in a block casting process.
The magnetic fields, if properly adjusted to the crystal growth conditions, can tune the melt flow, i.e. damp or enhance it. Therefore, the application of defined magnetic fields directly facilitates the improvement of the crystal quality. The better understanding of the complex 3D transport phenomena in the melt, without and in the presence of the magnetic fields, is a crucial step in improving the silicon solidification process.
This numerical modelling study has been performed in the frame of the AVANTSolar project financed by Technologiestiftung Berlin, ERDF (European Regional Development Fund), Zukunftsagentur Brandenburg and industry partners for 2,5 years with a budget of 3,4 M €. The goal of this project is the development of a new industrial-scale technology, i.e. both equipment and process based on KRISTMAG® technology, for the manufacturing of silicon wafers of improved quality.
Contact: Dr. Natascha Dropka, e-mail, tel.: +49-(0)30-6392 3044, www.ikz-berlin.de